Temperature-indicator apparatus for cooling systems of explosive engines



March' 23 192s.' 1,577,847

C. NIELSEN, JR

URE- INDICATOR APPARATUS FOR COOLING SYSTEMS OF EXPLOSIVE ENGINES Filed July 14, 1917 TENPERAT 45 ciency of the engine."

H have shown in the d-I'wing massaging-123, 1926.

. www. PATENT. oFFicE.: l

N U15H-12H11` STATES;

'(oanisr'IaN'NmLsEN, or CHICAGO, ILLINoIs.`

,TEE 1 nnATURn-INDIGAT6R arrnnnrus ron COOLING s Ysrnms or .Exrnosrim r f f ENGINES.

Application led July A14,

J ,a citizenwofv th United\ States-and a ;VH and exact Idescription thereof, reference be-.

ing had to the accompanying drawings, and

to the characters oi` rei`erence marked. thereon, which form a part of this specification.

' This invention relates to improvements in 'motor mete s, or devices' temperature of t cooling liquid in the., cooling system of nexplosion engine. The device as herein shown 'has been designed more particularly for use in 'connection with explosion engines for automobiles.4

As adapted to this latter use the device is that type which consists of a thermic member which is located to be directly 'inliuenced by the temperature of the cooling liquidv which 25 flows `throiightlie closed cooling system of the engine, whereby thev thermic element of 'said ymember is at all times influenced bv the temperature of said liquidand \associated with said thermicelement is` a circuit controller which makes and breaks circuits, in

, which is included a battery, or other .source of. electrical energy.' Said circuit controller embraces a member which is caused to move over contacts by'which signalling devices located in said circuits are energized. vIn

, accordance with my invention, saidsignalling device embraces a plurality of lamps inV circuits and socontrolled as to continuously indicate at'ithe signallingdevice ranges of temperature from the energizin terminals .indicating dangerous hot 'and co d temperaturesjand intermediate tures, andthereby enable times determine theftempera'ture -and enalling device will preferablybe locatedo'n the mounting plate` at the dashboard of the L. vehicle whichcarries the various accessories,t

-such as lthe speedometer,- the''ill'11minating .titlv lamp therefor, etclj cal form of the device fwhich has strated efficiency' the 'following `tural details are-specifically set forth. Temperat.' obilc engine.

. which driving teinflperathe driver to at all'- In practice, `the sigl one racti-l'1 .in lpractical tests,- and iuv description reference will' be made-*to the' structuraldetails of the illusfv 1917. sriai'No. 180,688. tinted-device. lIt will lie understood, how- 1 ever, that vthe invention, in itshroader' aspect, is notlimited to this particula'rform of tliedevice, except as to claimswheremstruc-y F Intlie drawingssy Figline (J1, is a fragmentary view illustra'ting 'the' installation ofthe deviceon any auto- Figure 2 is a bottom plan view, with pa-rts 05 removed; ofthe thermicJdevice-'and the casing containing the same.

Figure 3 is aii enlargedysection on the line I vv3'-? '\,of Figure 1. fpr indicating the Figure 4 isa rearface viewfof the indicat- 70 ing device. Y

' Figure 5 is a section onithe line 5- 5 of Figure 4, showing the mounting plate fin section.

.Figure 6 is'anenlarged section' on tlf-ie line 7 5 6 6 :of Figure 2.'

Figure 7 is a diagram of the circuits. As shownin the -'drawings 10 ldesignatesV the manifoldfpipe ofthe cooling system of an explosion engine and 11=,designate s, diafl0 grammatically the mounting plate` at' the dashboard for the various engine andj elecr trical accessories. '12designates. as `awhole.- the thrmicdevice which is associated with the manifoldlO, and' .13 designates as, a- 35 board.

A The lthermic devicey comprises abasing which is 'composed off'anupperfmember- 14" having, as herein shown, a vcylindric*enclos- '90 ing wall -15`and-a lower member or balse'16 is removably secured'to the casin wall, being herein shown as provided an externally screw threaded annular dan e 17 that engages internal screwthre'ads int e `mi wall 15. The-said base member 16 'isfshowii as'made relatively massive -a'n'd isfformed-to i provide' a-semicircularsaddle f or seat, 18 which fits over the pipe 10` and maybe held thereon y'ny suitable clamping means, as, 100 for instance, a strap 19 'which encircles the lower sideof the -p\e andisI rovided with 'lugs 20throughw 'ch exten fastening or clamp' `.screws 2l-that are.

ma screw threaded to the Amember 16. The con- 1 05 struction shown' provides means to locate the thermie element in heaty'condu'cting relation to the -waterfthatilows throu h the `pip el10`,r and' one-that can' be readily, a apted to the' Y such: thermal association- 1.19

Y arm 34'* pin at the side of th mote from and terminates cuit-controller. As her tact arm is lmade a part sep is soldered or otherwise. slitably the spring armA.

aThe said controll Awipe over a series o 42 that are supportedc 4 -which islocated wi s, pported onor attac arm 44 that extends carriedby the yoke 2 herein shown as' {ixed'to s screw45.; "The signa or plurality are centaine nated' as a n mguntedin the Amo casing may be madestruction. As herein may be otherwise arr from the spirit of th Contained within said cas is 4a thermic cell 23 whicl is composed ofupp metal walls that are edges in 'anyB suitable joint or by solder.l adap which has a larg under heat, such, .for Preferably, and as herein shown, and lower walls of tl their outer sides close togethe lower wall of the'cell issu abutment consisting 'o lor thickened portion 2 member of lthecasing.l Su on the upper c bearer 26, provi extending up ing ina yoke theaxis of the upper tched to said latter wa 29 which extend eet b fjiaidfyke an Sait beare /wr d Aer1 30 a short' in diameter than the socket.

said 'p m is preferably 'reu the bottom of the sock t.

interminatesin an ax1 ts beyond he uppe hro'ugh an openingmember andthe lamps to be withdrawn foral U-shaped spring'l wardly Afromr the outer casing member. which is provided with One terminal of each lamp 47 48, 49 and ofthe.

33 whic Lprojec the' bearer and loosely inonearm 34 of a 35; the other arm o a downturied portion for is sol of the central mem er ofthe y of saidspring extends ted to contain `a vo pported by .an

oncave wal dered or otherwise `secure in a contact armhown, it anthe lowervwall of the thermic ce dwithout departure inner oblong rectangularlmember 51 of generalUshape incrossgsection, and closed at formed its forwardend, and. an outer, like shaped hereinshown, member 52 that is open `at its forward en d lower thin sheet .and 1s slipped over `thelinner member. The

bound together at theirouter member 52/'is provided with a front r, as by -a seam wall 53 having a plurality of openings, sev- Said thermic cell #is erallyJ in line with the signalling la-mps 47 latile substance 48, 49 and 5 0. Preferably a sheet, or sheets, nt 'of expansion of glass 55 is placed behind said Wall 53 and instance, as rether.- is confined between saidL wall and the edges the upper of the side and end walls of the inner memecell are concave on loer. *'Nlhe lamps are seated in sockets. 56 that their renters. lie which fare@ slpportedbih the inner casing he central portion et the member'inu any'suitable manner. f Y

' c .The manner herein slownof connectingr f ralupstanding the' signa-l Lcasing'to the mounting plate 1l 5 of thelower or 'b'aJse consists in providrg the mounting plate ppbrted centrally with; an tblong opening of a size into which l of the cell is a" the icasing closely fits, with .the casing subded witha lattenedheadZZ, stantially ush at' its rear/ 'side with the rear ly' through a guidelopenace'oftheanomting plate.. 57, 57 designate 28 arranged transverselyfacross angle brackets whiclrare secured to the outer casing wall andjsat-V Casing by Jrivets 58 and' are attached to the ll by meansrof screws front face of the x'nounting plate by screws openings in the 59."6O,'160 j1lesignate spring latches,which d vinto said wall. v. y may be attached to the brackets ,by the-'rivets an axial,'up- 58 Vand extend forwardly beyond the openmfg socket in which loosely lits ing end if the outer casing` 52 and are there 32,l said pin, b

f .smaller formed with projections 61 adapted to en- The lower end ofgage over the iront closed side of the inner nded to engage' casing 'whenlthe latter 4is in place. Sad The -upperend latches lockthe inner casing member and alextension the lamp montings inplace inthe outer rend of .casing member and permitsaid inner casing terminal 36 which A5O'isconnected by a-conductor toone of the d to one side contacts 39, 40, 41. and 420i Athe controller.

e 28.` The'I Ifthe lamp sockets'be grounded to the caseyond the ing, said casing'is connected by a common e axis ofthe casing reconductor 62 to a battery 63, or other suitf portion of the spring able sources of current supply, and said bat 38 of al cirtery is connected to the spring 35 by a conein shown said cond.duct-or' 64. This connectlon may be either 7- 'arate from, and. direct to the spring-or the conductor may be attached to, connected to the casing to which the spring is grounded. -In the present construction it er larm 38 is adapted to isv assumed that the lamp sockets 56.A are f V contacts 39, 40,41 andgrounded to the casing, this'grounded conan insulatingblock nection being indicated by a common, wire hin the casing and is in the diagrammatic view of Figure 7. ed to a Iixed or rigid The. operation of the device describedv is yfrom'and is asfollows: d block being 'When the thermic element is clamped .to

aid arm by a the pipe 10 oris otherwise brought into heat evice comprises a series .ing system, heat from the cooling. fluid is s 47, .48, 49 and 50A which communicatedreely to the thermic element.

` suitable casing, desig- In the present construction, its central raised and removably portion, 2 5 of the upper cside of-the-base 611%v Said member'of the-'casing constitutes an 'abutany suitable conment against which the central Hortion of 23 rest's.

las

The heat thus .transmitted to? the thermie cell acts to cxpandthe fluid contained inthe cell and, by reason/of the'doulile vcqncave walls of the cell, 4the movement of the upper Vwall of the cell, -due to theexpansion of the volatile medium therein is multiplied, This movement of the cell,A alls acts to force` the bearer 26 upwardly land said bea'rerx acts, through the med/iiimof the in32, to swing the upper` arnr'34 ofthe spring' about a fulerum at the closed "portion of the spring Y :is 7 0; degrees when engaged with contact tureoffthe cooling medium'to operate lamp" and thereby' causes the controller -arm 38 to avipe, over the contacts 39, 40 ,.41 and 42." lVhen the vapparatus is not 1n use the controller arm is 'out of engagement withfall of the contacts, as' shown in 'Figure 3. The

duce independently distinguishable signals.

.by-reason of relative' positions of lamps to eachother and to'distinguishing 'insign1a It may be assumed thatwhen the controller -..ar'1p.- is .engaged with contact 39 the tem-- .3

pei'ature of the cooling medium to move `said armto this point to operate lamp 47 40 thel temperature of the cooling medium tooperate lamp 48 is 120 degrees F.; when engaged with` the contact 41 the tempera-'- 49 is 180 degrees F., and when engaged with Athe contact 42 the 'tempera-ture of the coolv ing medium to operate lamp `50/ is beyond va safe point; and a' sui-table legend is associated with said lamp to indicate danger.

Thelconstruction of the cell, in combinationl with the engagement of-its lower vyallwith a fixed ,abutment that is .delicatel respon-1 sive to' temperatures and with thev oose con-l nectionof the pin 32 with the bearer and with the' s ring arm 34e-permits the tem- `peratureuw ich is impressed on a thermic .celltb-beaccurately registering at the sig-- 'nal 'devicefso that the driver ofthe automobilef'is aware at all timesk of the temperature conditions ofthe' cooling medium'zof the engine. r c

The structure -described is an arti'cle of manufacturev which may be" readily applied to ian enginejandto the car by any one possessing ordinary'. vmechanical .and 'elecstantlyv exposed to the driver of a 02,13 and the device' comprises thermic means tovco'rrespond totempe'rature.- ranges of the cool- ,inggmedlum roduce a predetermined,-

' sequentialexcitation ofthe signal means.'

A further 'advanta e of the indicator,

comprising the` pll'r'ra of lamps separately to be energized by varying tempera-v tures, is that one of the lamps, 47 to `50 1 nclusive, is always lighted and glvcs its proper signal, so that the driveris aware of the temperature ofthe cooling water in j: therclosed system ofthe engine at all times. The lamps 47 and1'50 constitute, respectivgly, the emergen-cy signals, one to giveindmation of coolness and the tions of boiling.

other to give indica- -The intermediate lamps 48 and 4 9, or as manyintermediate lamps-as' magyl be required,give indications of safe driving and enables the driver to operate'all the func- -tions of the en ine 'to correspond therewith.

The lamps'be'nng'differentiated by colors,` calls directfand sudden attention ro theeendition ofthe temperature `of the cooling `water, land the conti-nuous excitation ofthe' -thermlc element produces corresponding,

continuous excitations of the lamps.

The structure described is a'n article o-E manufacture which may bel readily'applied to an en ine and-toa car by any one possess-v ing or inary` mechanical and electrical knowledge. The signals are4 constantly exposed'to the driver: of.a car, and the device comprises thermic' means constructed for f sequel excitation of circuits to-eorrespondl to temperature franges of the cooling mediumto produce a predetermined sequential excitation of the signal means.

An advantage of the construction d e scribed, in addition to .its accuracy and its extreme simplicity, it being notedthat' the controller is tree "from specially formed pivots,`is the' fact thatihe thermic devicev is capable of being fitted to any standard auto; mobile engine, Ait being only necessary, in

applying the device to different engines to change or vary thebase member 16 anda its clamping strap 119, in order to secure an accurate it between thecontacting surfaces of.'

the base'm'ember and 'said-pipe.

By thei use-of' the apparatus described, the driver of the caris apprised 'at all times of the temperature' ofthe cooling medium, by

which the .ex losion engine is properly cooled, and wit his `experience of the particular explosionengine employed and lits cooling system he is enabled -at all times tQ keep;the` engne conditions under .such1 observations as will make--itpossible to secure the best eiciency therefrom.` It is well known thatwin theordinary :water cooled. 'engine, -the cooling of the engine is directly j opposed to itsr eiciency but, as the engines trical knowledge. The signals .are conare usually designed, itis necessary to provide such'cooling effect as'will. avoid overheating of the engine apparatus.

f It' is, therefore, highly desirable4 thatthe driver of the car can at all times observe the prevailing temperature of the, water, and knowing its temperature relatively to the parasmuch cooling medium to be observed when driving at night, as well as day, and the employment of different colored panels in the signal box `over the'several'lamps will facilitate accurate observation, whichv will enable the driver to -know when his engine is operating eicientlyand'to relieve such conditions as work against ineiicie-nt operation.A The apparatus is, moreover, more than. a mere` sig-A nal alarm apparat-us lto indicate ultimate danger ,which requires immediate attention but is an apparatus which is constantly before the driver` of a car and which gives him opportunity` for continuous observance of engine efiiciency duev to his knowledge and experience with a given engine and the temperature of vthe cooling medium which produces the best results in operation.

I claim'as my invention 1. Av device for the purpose 4'set forth comprising a thermic cell having means to centrally support one walli thereof through' which means heat'is conducted to the cell', a socketed bearer seated centrally against the other wall of saidv cell, a ixed guide for said bearen'a pin loosely mounted in the prolongation,

socket of the bearer, and provided with a a spring controlled arm having an, opemng through which saidI prolongation loosely extends and a series of signal circuit 4contacts over which'I said switch arm sweeps.

2. A device for the purpose set forth -comprising a heat conducting memberadapted to be fixed to and against the wall of a'cooling medium circult of an explosive enginel ,thermie cell having .l sinner? and .provided with Va central abutment, a concave walls, one wall of which is. centrally supported .by said abutment, .a bearer seated against other concave wall of said cell, a switch arm opera.-

tively connected to and actuated by. said bearer and .a series of terminal contacts over which said switch arm sweeps. 1

v 3. A device for the purpose set forth comprising heat conducting member adapted to fit against the wall of the cooling medium circuit of. an explosive engine, with means to fasten it against saidI wall, a thermic cell one wall ofwhich is centrally supported by said member, a bearer seated centrally against the other' wail of said cell, a fixed sald guide and folded upon itself and extending across said bearer and carrying a switch arm, operative connections between said bearer and the latter member of said spring, and a series of contact terminals over i which said switch arm sweegs.

guide for said bearer, a Ispring attached to 4. A device .for the purpose )set forth comv prising heat conducting member adapted to fit against the .wall of the cooling medium circuit of an explosive engine, with means to fasten against said wall, a thermic cell, one walhof which is centrally supported by said member, a bearer seated vagainst the other wall of said cell, a bearer, a spring attached-to said guide and folded'upon itself and extending across said bearer and carrying a switch arm, said fixed guide for said bearefbeing provided witha socket, a pin loosely seated in saidfand engaging said latter arm and a series of terminal contacts lover which said switch armsweeps.v

t In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invent-ion I affix my signature this/29th day of June; A. D. 1917 l CHRISTIAN'NIELISEN," Jav 

